Is this sensory overload?

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For various reasons I believe I may have aspergers/asd, this wasn't some impulse decision but I was reading and thinking about it for weeks. It seems to explain all of the issues I've had. After a lot of reflection I realized what I'd called anxiety in some situations may be sensory sensitivity/overload.. I originally went to a campus counselor for social anxiety (which was very difficult because it's hard to even put what I'm feeling into words), and she kept trying to correct thoughts. But I realized there were no thoughts in many of these anxious situations, often a crowded room with everyone talking and moving. Next time I was in a situation like that (chaotic noisy classroom group work) I paid close attention to what I was feeling, and there was no anxiety like the counselor was describing. I definitely get anxiety other times but there was no fast heartbeat, shaking, and no real thoughts. Everything just feels unreal and very unpleasant, and it's much harder to think about even the simple things we're supposed to be doing. I remember times when I can't escape, my brain can get extremely disconnected like I'm watching everything through a screen. I don't freak out externally though, it mostly becomes harder to move or say anything - though I'm basically on autopilot. I thought about when I'd been comfortable in lab groups, when there's little noise and not many people. Does this sound like sensory sensitivity like and of you have? There's plenty of other things that initially made the consider asd.. and I have a psych eval appointment in a month, but I feel like I'm in some kind of mental limbo of not knowing. Whatever's wrong with me has definitely negatively affected my life.

This happens to me also. I think when this happens I might be mentally shutting down because I'm either overwhelmed with my surroundings or upset. For a really long time couldn't really understand what exactly was going on or why it was happening. I would get this sometimes in PE class while I was in high school and would also get it a lot in lab settings. It was like what you described where I couldn't mentally process very much. I also would become more clumsy and would sometimes dissociate. When I was little though I would melt down instead when I was overwhelmed.

Thanks for the reply. Can anyone else relate to this?

Almost like you are describing a panic attack. You might consider trying some experiments such as starting from a calm state - being around loud noises, Being around bright lights, being around a lot of people like at a sporting event. Then finally being in a crowded room with only one exit.

I am self diagnosed ASD, I know I am super sensitive to loud noisy crowds like a sporting event or busy restaurant or crowded shopping mall or a busy highway, super sensitive to light touch. My sensitivities are always present.

Yes, that sounds like a shutdown.

I get the same in busy environments, or when I'm overwhelmed.

Limbs become heavy. I suddenly become extremely tired. I feel like talking would use too much energy, and even if I try my brain has packed a suitcase and disappeared and there's no way that the messages can get to my mouth (though I can still sometimes write or type in these situations). I feel very dazed and like the world around me has faded - sound becomes muffled and my eyes can't focus probably, so it's like being in a dream state. And apparently I also look like a zombie. My husband knows when I'm in shutdown because I walk in slow motion, apparently.

This sounds like what you're describing?